DURHAM — The University of New Hampshire hockey team came into the season unranked. The Wildcats just wanted to get off to a good start and put last year's disappointing performance behind them as quickly as possible.

Now they're the top-ranked team in the country. Talk about a turnaround.

“It doesn't really affect the way we go into a practice or a game,” said junior forward Dalton Speelman. “It's just another day. We'll continue to do our job and work hard. We're obviously happy being the No. 1 team in the country. It's a great accomplishment, but it's not something we're focusing on.”

UNH was ranked second behind Boston College in both national polls last week.

The clubs switched spots after the Wildcats swept a two-game series from UMass-Lowell over the weekend and the Eagles split a pair with Boston University.

“Obviously it's an awesome feeling,” said freshman defenseman Brett Pesce, “but we're taking it in stride. We don't want to let it get in our heads. We're focusing on the next game. We're not really thinking about it too much. It's only December.”

UNH is ranked No. 1 for the first time in five years.

Now the Wildcats are focused on a strong finish to the first half of the season. They have one game remaining with BU on Thursday night (7) at the Whittemore Center before the break.

“It's one of the most important games we have this year,” Speelman said. “They're not an easy team as we know from experience. We've taken two from them already. We want to make it three but they're not going to give it up easily. BC was the No. 1 team last week and BU knocked them off. I'm sure they'll be looking to do the same thing to us.”

UNH has already beaten the Terriers twice this season, once at the Whitt and once at Agganis Arena in Boston. BU is ranked seventh nationally.

“Coach said (Monday) this will be our Christmas present if we win,” said Pesce, who was 17 when he made his debut for UNH in October. “It'll be nice to get the win and finish off the sweep. I know they'll be ready, but at the same time so will we.”

The Wildcats are 11-1-2 overall and 8-1-1 in Hockey East. They're also unbeaten in their last eight games (7-0-1).

Defense and goaltending have been staples for much of the season, but now the offense has started to come around.

UNH has scored 20 goals in its last four games, and have managed to compensate for the loss of senior alternate captain Greg Burke of Lee, who has missed the last five games with a shoulder injury and likely won't return until after the Christmas break at the earliest.

Pesce was one of three defensemen to score goals Saturday night.

“It's been a big transition,” Pesce said. “The first eight games were very fast. I wasn't being as aggressive as I normally am. Once I adjusted to the speed, I'm starting to play my game.”

Despite the lofty ranking, Speelman expects the coaches and captains to keep the Wildcats grounded. UNH has gotten off to good starts in the past, only to falter after the first of the year.

“I think we have good leadership from the top down,” Speelman said. “We're coming in every day knowing we have to work hard. We're a really focused team. The outside noise doesn't get to us. Yes, we're the No. 1 team in the country, but we're not cocky about it.”

The Wildcats' start is one of the best in the program's history through 14 games, although it's not something they necessarily envisioned before the season.

“You hope for it,” Speelman said. “Obviously you don't know the future. We knew coming in we had a good team. Last year we were almost there with wins. We lost a lot of close games. I think that's the difference between this year and last year. We don't lose those games, we win them.”

Speelman, who missed most of last season with a broken arm, scored twice in last Saturday's 5-2 win over UMass-Lowell, including the go-ahead goal that made it 3-2 with 8:19 remaining the second period.

He added an empty-netter in the final minute.

Pesce made it 4-2 midway through the third period with his first career goal.

“I personally never envisioned this,” Pesce said of the No. 1 ranking. “I just remember the first week of practice being so fast. I knew we'd be good, but this is kind of a shock.”

Grayson Downing scored twice in Friday's game, giving him five goals in two games.

“We're very happy with our overall play of the weekend,” Speelman said. “We wanted to come out of it with four points and that's what we did. We played strong defensively and offensively, and got the job done.”

UNH hosts the U18 U.S. national team on Sunday (4 p.m.). The Wildcats are then off until Dec. 30-31 when they play in a holiday tournament at Dartmouth with UMass and Bemidji State.

“We came in knowing we had a lot of skill,” Speelman said. “We wanted to get off to a strong start, and I think we did that. We come in every day wanting to get better. We're doing very well, and with success comes confidence.”